St. Claire HealthCare/Northeast Kentucky AHEC and the Northeast Kentucky Substance Use Response Coalition have received a one-year federal grant to assess regional suicide risk and potential interventions.

St. Claire HealthCare/Northeast Kentucky AHEC and the Northeast Kentucky Substance Use Response Coalition have received a one-year federal grant to assess regional suicide risk and potential interventions.

The $100,000 Rural Health Network Development Planning grant will enable eight partner organizations to administer surveys and conduct focus groups targeted toward clinics, hospitals, schools/universities, and recovery centers. Besides St. Claire HealthCare/Northeast Kentucky AHEC, network members for this project will include Carter County Schools; the Clark County Health Department; Comprehend, Inc.; Gateway District Health Department; Morehead State University; Pathways, Inc.; and Recovery Rowan County, Inc.

The project will target Bath, Carter, Clark, Mason, Montgomery, and Rowan counties.

“Northeastern Kentucky suffers from comparatively high rates of overdose deaths and suicides,” said the Northeast Kentucky AHEC’s KaSandra Hanshaw, who will serve as project director. “And, some experts estimate that up to 30% of opioid-related overdose deaths are actually suicides. This project will allow us to engage directly with health care providers, students, and those in recovery to determine which suicide prevention interventions are most likely to be successful within our region.”

The project will begin July 1 and continue through June 30, 2025.

“Since 2018, we have worked together to enhance prevention, treatment, and recovery services in this region,” said Luke Stapleton, director of the Northeast Kentucky Substance Use Response Coalition. “Our member organizations now look forward to working together to address suicide prevention, which is an increasingly important topic nationally and locally.”

The Health Resources & Services Administration’s Rural Health Network Development Planning Grant program is intended to foster diverse networks that will expand access to, coordinate, and improve the quality of basic rural health care services. St. Claire HealthCare/Northeast Kentucky AHEC and the Northeast Kentucky Substance Use Response Coalition are among 30 grantees in this year’s funding cycle; the entire list of 2024 network planning grantees can be accessed at https://www.hrsa.gov/rural-health/grants/rural-community/network-planning-awards.